National Services Te Paerangi
Providing help to museums, galleries, and iwi.
We give practical and strategic help to:
museum staff and volunteers
gallery staff and volunteers
iwi
We work collaboratively with people all around New Zealand to strengthen the museum sector.
Our mission
Our mission is to work throughout Aotearoa New Zealand in partnership with museums, galleries, and iwi offering a range of practical and strategic programmes aimed at strengthening the sector.
Our staff
Our National Services Te Paerangi (NSTP) team includes a core staff of seven experienced and committed people. We’re based both at Te Papa and around the country.
Victoria Esson, Head of Sector Development | Pouwhakahaere
Location: Wellington
With over three decades of experience in the heritage and cultural sector, Victoria Esson is a dedicated champion for its growth and evolution. Her career began at Wellington’s City Gallery, where she blended her passion for culture and heritage with a strong commitment to education, earning a teaching qualification along the way. Victoria’s journey continued through roles in museum education at Te Manawa and Te Papa, where she deepened her focus on connecting communities with their cultural narratives. Her dedication to sustainable practices led her to National Services Te Paerangi, where she has focused on advancing effective governance, sector-wide development, and community- and iwi-led care of collections. At the heart of her work Victoria believes that cultural institutions flourish when they are deeply rooted in their communities—making collections not only accessible but also meaningful for future generations. Driven by this vision, she is committed to strengthening the sector’s social fabric through knowledge sharing, collaboration, and enduring partnerships.
Victoria’s work with NSTP focuses on:
developing improvement tools for the museum sector
developing collaborative programmes that improve museological skills across the museum sector
workplace assessment for the New Zealand Certificate of Museum Practice.
Contact Victoria Esson
Email: vesson@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone: 021 869 006
Paora Tibble, Iwi Development Manager | Pouwhirinaki ā-Iwi
Location: Gisborne
Paora descends from Ngāti Porou, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa and Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Drawing from his experience as a reo Māori writer at Te Papa and several years as Iwi Development Adviser, Paora brings people together in important ways to develop the care of taonga. His mahi includes facilitating workshops, engaging with hapū and supporting community to develop collection care practices of taonga. Having witnessed vast change over the past 20 years in the sector with regard to the ways museums engage with tangata whenua, Paora is committed to ensuring the principles of mana taonga are further imbued into museum practise and kaitiekitanga.
Paora’s work with NSTP focuses on:
developing and delivering strategic programmes about the care and management of taonga, including Te Papa Treaty Settlement cultural redress for iwi
strengthening relationships between iwi and museums
workplace assessment for the New Zealand Certificate of Museum Practice.
Contact Paora Tibble
Email: paorat@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone: 029 601 0440
Ahi Marino-Dawson, Iwi Development Adviser | Kaiwhanake a-Iwi
Location: Whanganui
Born and raised in Whanganui, Ahi had the privilege of schooling in Kohanga, Kura Kaupapa Māori, and Wharekura which grounded her firmly in te ao Māori, though her role as a cultural trailblazer was something she has only recently come to know and appreciate. Throughout her life, she unwittingly become a pioneer as she continued to integrate mātauranga Māori and tikanga Māori in a Pākeha world. At Te Herenga Waka, she successfully completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mātauranga Māori and Te Reo, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Te Ara Pourewa Heritage and Museum Studies.
Subsequently, she has worked at Pātaka as a Gallery Assistant and has also worked at Te Oranganui, a Māori health organisation, as a He Puna Ora Kaitūruki providing support and facilitating wānanga to new mothers and their whānau. Ahi’s iwi are Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngā Rauru and Ngāi Tahu.
Ahi's work focuses on:
developing and delivering programmes about the care and management of taonga
strengthening relationships between iwi and museums
providing face-to-face support to and increasing communication and understanding between iwi and museums around New Zealand
Contact Ahi
Email: ahi.marinodawson@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone: 021844739
Shae Trewin, Museum Development Adviser | Kaiwhanake Whare Taonga
Location: Nelson
Shae Trewin has over 17 years of experience in collections care, management, and registration across Aotearoa and the United States, along with seven years in facilities management. She holds a master’s degree in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies from Deakin University and has critical experience in the sustainable operation of collection stores, collection moves and rationalisation. By drawing on her broad expertise and knowledge base, she is well placed helping museums and iwi-led organisations to develop sustainable, cost-effective solutions that fit their means, orientation and kaupapa.
Shae’s work with NSTP focuses on:
providing face-to-face support to museums across the South Island
providing ongoing support and training, and collaborating with various heritage groups
workplace assessment for the New Zealand Certificate of Museum Practice.
Email: Shae.Trewin@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone: 022 018 5236
Sally August, Museum Development Adviser | Kaiwhanake Whare Taonga
Location: Gisborne
Sally has been working in museums for more than 10 years. She is passionate about the arts and heritage sector, especially the preservation of taonga. Sally has a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Photography and a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Studies.
Sally’s work with NSTP focuses on:
providing face-to-face support to museums across the North Island
providing ongoing support and training, and collaborating with various heritage groups
workplace assessment for the New Zealand Certificate of Museum Practice.
Contact Sally August
Email: sally.august@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone: 029 601 0370
Jacqueline Godfery, Kaiwhakaratonga Rāngai | Sector Services Officer
Location: Wellington
Built with a passion for working with Māori communities and equipped with a background in libraries and education, Jacqueline brings all number of skills and qualities to the role as Kaiwhakaratonga Rāngai | Sector Services Officer. In one of her most recent roles, as a Librarian at Kawerau District Library (2015 - 2021) she worked closely with the Museum on public programme events and organised two national story tour events, one of which was delivered entirely in te reo Māori. Jacqueline is of Māori (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Hikairo), Samoan, Scottish and Irish descent.
Her work includes:
organising online and in-person workshops
processing grants and funding applications
co-ordinating the Expert Knowledge Exchange programme
Contact Jacqueline Godfrey
Email:Jacqueline.godfery@tepapa.govt.nz
Mandy Herrick, Content and Resource Adviser | Kaitohutohu Rauemi
Location: Auckland
Part-time
Mandy has a background in digital content development having worked across the cultural heritage and NGO sector over the past decade. Having worked at Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Puke Ariki and the Dowse, Mandy has a firm understanding of the wider cultural sector and the challenges faced by institutions both small and large.
Mandy’s work with NSTP focuses on:
leading the refresh of the NZ Museums site
creating a suite of digital resources
Contact Mandy Herrick
Email: mandy.herrick@tepapa.govt.nz
Emma Philpott, Content and Resource Adviser | Kaitohutohu Rauemi
Location: Coromandel
Part time
After beginning her career in communications and training roles across the UK's non-profit and cultural sectors, Emma joined National Services Te Paerangi in 2013 as a training coordinator, drawn by the opportunity to serve communities throughout Aotearoa while shaping best practice in collection care. Following an insightful stint as Policy Adviser with Te Papa's Strategy and Policy team, she returned to NSTP in a Resource Development role. As an advocate of all things digital, she values the way NSTP brings together people by using its various platforms to share collection-based stories, best practice and innovative programming.
Emma’s work with NSTP focuses on:
development of Kōtuia.org.nz
managing content and communications for the NSTP team
museum resource development.
Contact Emma
Email: emma.philpott@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone: 021 878 215